Scooter da strata
Vespa is an Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio.
Piaggio emerged from the conflict with its Pontedera bomber plane plant demolished by bombing. Italy's crippled economy, and the disastrous state of its roads, were not immediately conducive to the re-development of the automobile market. Enrico Piaggio, the son of Piaggio's founder Rinaldo Piaggio, decided to leave the aeronautical field in order to address Italy's urgent need for a modern and affordable mode of transportation for the masses.
In 1944, Piaggio engineers Renzo Spolti and Vittorio Casini designed a motorcycle with bodywork fully enclosing the drivetrain and forming a tall splash guard at the front. In addition to the bodywork, the design included handlebar-mounted controls, forced air cooling, wheels of small diameter, and a tall central section that had to be straddled. Officially known as the MP5 ("Moto Piaggio no. 5"), the prototype was nicknamed "Paperino" (either "duckling" or "Donald Duck" in Italian).
Piaggio was displeased with the MP5, especially the tall central section. He contracted aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio, to redesign the scooter. D'Ascanio, who had earlier been consulted by Ferdinando Innocenti about scooter design and manufacture, made it immediately known that he hated motorcycles, believing them to be bulky, dirty, and unreliable.
D'Ascanio's MP6 prototype had its engine mounted beside the rear wheel. The wheel was driven directly from the transmission, eliminating the drive chain and the oil and dirt associated with it. The prototype had a unit spar frame with stress-bearing steel outer panels. These changes allowed the MP6 to have a step-through design without a centre section like that of the MP5 Paperino. The MP6 design also included a single sided front suspension, interchangeable front and rear wheels mounted on stub axles, and a spare wheel. Other features of the MP6 were similar to those on the Paperino, including the handlebar-mounted controls and the enclosed bodywork with the tall front splash guard.
Upon seeing the MP6 for the first time, Enrico Piaggio exclaimed: "Sembra una vespa!" ("It looks like a wasp!") Piaggio effectively named his new scooter on the spot. Vespa is both Latin and Italian for wasp—derived from the vehicle's body shape: the thicker rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod resembled antennae.
Old Number 5
Charles Nelson was born July 4, 1835 in Hagenow, a small town in the Mecklenburg-Schwerin state of northern Germany. When Charles was 15, his father decided he wanted to move his family to America for a better life. Charles and his brother began doing the only thing they knew how to do: making soap and candles. After saving some money, the Nelson family moved west, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was there that Charles, merely 17 years of age, entered the butcher business and acquainted himself with a number of fellow craftsmen who educated him in the art of producing and selling distilled spirits, particularly whiskey.
Several years later, just before the start of the Civil War, Charles set out for Nashville seeking a fresh start and another American dream took tenuous root. He opened a grocery store which flourished from sales of his three best-selling products: coffee, meat and whiskey. Very quickly however, Charles realized that the demand for his whiskey far exceeded his supply, revealing to him the opportunity to focus solely on whiskey. So he sold the grocery business.
Charles bought the distillery that was making his whiskey in Greenbrier, TN, and a patent for improved distillation. He expanded the production capacity in order to keep up with demand. With this expansion, Nelson was not only creating more jobs, he was making a name for Tennessee Whiskey. By 1885, there were hundreds of whiskey distilleries in Tennessee, but only a handful were producing significant volume. That year, Charles Nelson sold nearly 380,000 gallons, that's around 2 million bottles, of Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey. The distillery, which was commonly known as “Old Number Five” due to the fact that it was registered distillery number five and was located in the fifth tax district.
Charles Nelson passed away on December 13, 1891. His wife Louisa assumed control of the business, becoming one of the only women of her time to run a distillery. Louisa Nelson was a woman of remarkable strength and character who ran Nelson's Green Brier Distillery from 1891 until Prohibition shuttered it in 1909. She grew the distillery into one of the largest in the country at the time despite the great odds against her, including not having the right to vote. Fortunately, Louisa filed a trademark a few years before having to close the distillery, thus protecting the legacy of her late husband’s business.
Louisa’s registered trademark proved to be very fortunate for Charles Nelson’s great-great-great grandchildren, Charlie & Andy Nelson. After researching the history of their family, some stories from a local butcher in town, discovering a copy of an old microfilm containing a newspaper article of the original whiskey recipe, and obtaining their great-great-great grandmothers trademark, they re-formed the business that had closed exactly 100 years earlier in 1909 during Prohibition. With the spirit in their blood, Charlie and Andy followed their hearts, devoting their lives to resurrecting Nelson’s Green Brier Whiskey and producing top-quality product, appreciated by aficionados everywhere.
Honkey-tonk And Horns
Webb Pierce’s heirs donated his flashy 1962 Pontiac Bonneville convertible to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s permanent collection. Pierce already owned several rhinestone suits designed and crafted by Nudie Cohen when he paid the Hollywood tailor $20,000 to customize the car. Additions included a pair of steer horns mounted across the front grille, a hood ornament and door handles reminiscent of the six-shooters of the Old West, a saddle console and more than l50 silver dollars ornamenting the hand-tooled leather upholstery.
On loan to the museum since 1994, the car was one of the first artifacts transported when the museum began relocating to its new building in downtown Nashville. Pierce died of cancer in 199l and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. The car was donated by his widow, Audrey Pierce, his daughter, Deborah Pierce, and his son, Webb Pierce Jr.
The Joy Of Blending
JOY SPENCE, MASTER BLENDER
The Appleton Estate, the oldest sugar estate and distillery in Jamaica, is the birthplace of Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum. Known for its fertile soil, the Estate is nestled in the lush, sun-drenched Nassau Valley in the parish of St. Elizabeth and includes a distillery, a sugar factory and its own crystal clear, blue water source. Since 1749, these premium, aged rums have been produced from meticulously cultivated sugar cane that is Estate-grown and harvested on the beautiful island of Jamaica.
Joy Spence joined Appleton Estate in 1981 as chief chemist, and in 1997 became the first woman to hold the position of master blender in the spirits industry. Joy Spence, is a chemist, philanthropist and all-round spirited raconteur.Spence discovered her own passion for chemistry at the age of 13. The self-taught Spence went on to graduate from the University of the West Indies in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science Degree, First Class Honors.
In 1975 she joined the faculty of Jamaica’s College of Arts, Science & Technology (now the University of Technology) as a chemistry lecturer before moving to England. Spence graduated from the University of Loughborough in England with an Master’s in Analytical Chemistry in 1978. She joined Appleton Estate in 1981 as Chief Chemist at Appleton’s parent company J. Wray and Nephew Limited, and quickly became enthralled with the process of blending rum. Ultimately, she got involved in the artistry of side of rum because her job required constant interaction with J. Wray’s Master Blender, Owen Tulloch.
While still working under Tulloch as chief chemist Spence was also appointed general manager for technical services and was instrumental in steering J Wray & Nephew, through the ISO 9002 accreditation process, which the company received in 1996 in a record time of six months.
In 1997 Tulloch retired and Spence was seen as his natural successor. She says, modestly: “At the time not many people were interested in the position, and even if they were they weren’t being groomed like I was. Being a woman in a senior position I knew some of the men felt uncomfortable – but that’s normal and I don’t let those things bother me.”
Throughout her tenure, Joy has been decorated with a myriad of awards, starting with honorary doctorate degrees from both alma maters, and culminating with a national award from the Jamaican government for her contribution to the rum industry.
In 2021, Appleton Estates will celebrate her 40 years with the distillery. Spence has spearheaded the brand’s legacy of quality, care and dedication. She is an industry pioneer with unparalleled skills at creating premium blended rums, which is in every bottle produced.
The Anglers Song (For Bobby)
The Angler’s Song
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
From the river’s plashy bank,
Where the sedge grows green and rank,
And the twisted woodbine springs,
Upward speeds the morning lark
To its silver cloud — and hark!
On his way the woodman sings.
Where the sedge grows green and rank,
And the twisted woodbine springs,
Upward speeds the morning lark
To its silver cloud — and hark!
On his way the woodman sings.
On the dim and misty lakes
Gloriously the morning breaks,
And the eagle’s on his cloud:–
Whilst the wind, with sighing, wooes
To its arms the chaste cold ooze,
And the rustling reeds pipe loud.
Gloriously the morning breaks,
And the eagle’s on his cloud:–
Whilst the wind, with sighing, wooes
To its arms the chaste cold ooze,
And the rustling reeds pipe loud.
Where the embracing ivy holds
Close the hoar elm in its folds,
In the meadow’s fenny land,
And the winding river sweeps
Through its shallows and still deeps,–
Silent with my rod I stand.
Close the hoar elm in its folds,
In the meadow’s fenny land,
And the winding river sweeps
Through its shallows and still deeps,–
Silent with my rod I stand.
Enduring Affirmations
“Both the grand and the intimate aspects of nature can be revealed in the expressive photograph. Both can stir enduring affirmations and discoveries, and can surely help the spectator in his search for identification with the vast world of natural beauty and wonder surrounding him.” - Ansel Adams
